Pressure booster unit



May 26, 1942. f x... R. WILLIAMSON l PRESSURE BOOSTER UNIT Filed June 9, 193B compensate for the' Patented May UNITED sTArss '.-lPAT-ENT orties A' rnnssoasslran purr p". i Larkin Williamson, Cincinnati, (Ehio, assignor to E. W. Bliss Company poration or Delaware Appunmrmie 9, recaen-uu 10.212.721

, Brooklyn, N. Y., a eor- 2 claim. (ci. so-54.6)

This invention relates toa pressure booster unit analogous to a pump by which the uid pressure in a fluid transmission systemV is varied at the will of the operator. The 'invention'.is more particularly concerned with a unit by which the pressure in the system can be'. built up to actuatev anymechanismcoupled thereto and the pressure then maintained at a. builtup value during the normal operation of the mechanism.

l Thereafter the pressure may be released to render the system inactive. x

Pressure booster units have in lgeneral been subject to several disadvantages. In the iirst place it has been necessary to intermittently actuate the unit during a prolonged period ot operation of the mechanism it' controlled ,rto maintain the requisite operating pressure in the system in spite of any minute leaks therein and especially leaks at glands and other packedjoints. With pressure applying mechanism heretofore used it has been dimcult to rapidly move the the light 'of the accompanying drawing', and

the novel features thereof are summarized in the In said annexed drawing: l

1 is'a plan view of my' booster unit and a driving motor therefor; and

Fig; 2 is a transverse section through Fig. 1

as indicated bythe line 2-2 thereon.

The booster unit in general comprises a pa of opposed pistons which are interconnected as shown in Fig. 2, to function as a unit inapplying iiuid pressure to a mechanism to be operated. They are controlled through a single rack connected to each piston by a toggle link. The rack is shifted vertically of movement of the pistons by a pinion, which in turn is driven by a parts at a lowpressure up to the point at which the controlled mechanism .becomes effective and reversible electric motor. A.

. This motor, indicatedin Fig. 1 at '5, carries a pinion (Fig. 2) on the rotor shaft, which shaft is journaled in the pump casing Hl. The pinion protrudes intoa vertical elongated rack slide il, in which is carried a vertically shiitable rack i2. At its lower end'the rack 'i2 is forked as thereafter to follow the rst movement with a booster mechanism by which the.` iluid pressure can act at a relatively low rate of pressure increase to shift the controlled parts to the point of actual driving engagement and thereafter move the parts the slight distancenecessaryfor complete engagement at a greatly increased pressure. Another object of the invention has been todevise abooster unit which will automatically vslight drop occurring throughout the system due to leakage over an extended period of use. -An additional object is self-lockingA after the desired operating pres sure' is attained and' in which no further driving force acting on the booster is needed to maintain such operating pressure. l

g Other objects of my invention will become apparent from the following description, read in has been to provide a. booster mechanism which indicated at is and within the lfork are pivotally mounted two toggle members I5 which at their outer ends are pivotally secured as at i6 to pump pistons i8.

These pistons is are slidably ders 2l formed within end members i9. Pipe lines' 28, as seen in Fig. 1, lead from each cylinder to a common conduit 29, which communicates with the mechanism to be supplied with iluid pressure.. Leakage between the pistons and the cylinders is prevented by packing diaphragme 2 secured in place by packing rings 2i, bolted as at 23 to the pistons.-

From the description so far given it will be apparent that as the pinion moves the rack i2 downwardly a toggle action is established which forces the two vpistons i8 away from each other.

Dueto this action the pistons move rapidly until v the rack is almost at the end of its stroke. At this time, due to the nearly horizontal position of the arms I5, the movement of the .pistons slows down greatly. This novel principle is ernployed to more advantageously apply fluid pressure to the mechanism actuated by the fluid in the system. It functions to rapidly decrease thevolume in which the fluid is confined and to take up-the play between the parts until the instant prior to actual driving engagement of theparts bythe increasing fluid pressure.

The toggle arms i5, then being almost'vstraight, apply the actual operating4 force at a greatly increased pressure very slowly and thus the ordimountedm cylmnary shock at the time of engagement iseliminated. To hold the pistons in an extended position the rack is driven downwardly to carry the toggle arms past deadcenter and thus employ the fluid pressure of the system to hold the rack down against a cushion carried in the base. For various reasons later discussed, the total volume of the fluid system maybe varied and. to the same end, the system is adjustable to permit the aforesaid advantageoustoggle action to be set up at'the precise time desired.

Tothus cushion the downward movement of the rack I2 a cushion plate 24, including a piston 25,1s mounted beneath the rack I2. The piston is restrained against rotation by a pin in a slot 2B in the piston. A small hole is lprovided centrally in the plate 24 to permit fluid to enter the cylinder therebeneath and to permit its egress. The result is a dashpot effect when the lower end of the fork strikes the plate. As the toggle moves past dead center it assumes a vposition on top of the cushion as shown in Fig. 2. and as above indicated is retained in `this position by the pressure in the system tending to force the pistons inwardly. After `the fork I4 is raised to release the pressure in the system a spring 30 returns the cushion plate to an upward position and allows fluid to refill the cylin,

der therebeneath in preparation for the next action.

To prevent chatter of the rack I 2, when the 'pistons are shifted to the solid line position of Fig. 2, distinguished from the dotted line posi-- non, a spring and ban lock is provided. This comprises a ball 32 which, in thev aforesaidposition, lies within a groove'33 of the rack and is held' thereagainst by a compression spring 34 bearing against the head of a push-rod 35, which in turn is journaled in-a hollowcap secured to the pump casing. Pressure of the spring is sufficient only to prevent rattling and is not intended to replace the pinion 6 at any stage in the operation. f

The machinery operated by the iiuid system of my invention may normally be in operation for considerable periods of time. Under such conditions the fluid' system, being subject to various minute leaks, gradually suffers a decrease in operating pressure which in operating mechanism heretofore used had to be built up to normal at regular intervals. Oneof the features of my invention is mechanism by which the desired operating pressure is continuously maintained over long periods without the necessity of replenishing the system.

This pressure maintaining mechanism is shown in Fig. 2 and is mounted within a subcasing 31 supported on an end member I9 by a. hollow threaded nipple 38. Within the casing is a piston 4I) provided with packing 4I and normally retained in a downward position by a strong 'compression spring 42. At its upper end the spring engages a ring 43 which may be adjustably positioned in the casing by a bolt 45 and locked in place-in any adjusted position by a lock nut 46. As it is impossible to make the piston and packing absolutely fluid tight, a line 50 leads from the interior of the casing 31 back into the main casing I0 to prevent excessive accumulation of liquid beyond thepiston 40.

The pressure to be maintained in the operating portions of the mechanism is, as above indicated, determined-by the compression of thespringf42 Y under the. influence of the bolt 45. As rthe pistons. I8 are separated by downward movement ywhen the toggle is almost straight.

of the rack fluid pressure is built up in the system and moves the piston 40 upwardly against vthe spring 42. The tendency of the springvto return the piston to its normal position compensates for leakage in the oil line and maintains a normal operating pressure therein equivalent to the expansive force exerted by the spring 42.A

tional fluid to the' system with eacli stroke a line is provided to pass fluid from the system back into the case. This line also provides lubrication for the rack and pinion. To this end a fluid line 60 is -provided which ,threadingly connects with the interior of-the fluid system at one of the end members I9. The other end of the line is secured to a flexible tube B2 which in turn is secured to a nipple 63 threadingly connected to a hollow bolt member 84 adjustably received in the cap of the casing IIL A rod 65 is normally slidable in the opening of the threaded member 64 and when the pistons are in the retracted position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, the rod moves upwardly and opens a ball check valve member 68.' Spacers 10 lie within a recess in the rack and provide an adjustable seating for the lower end of the rod 65. When the pistons are in the position shown in heavy lines in Fig. 2 the ball valve is closed and pressure is maintained in the system. When the pistons are retracted the ball valve is raised and any excess oil in the system falls down into the casing and in passing over the rack and pinion lubrcates the same and other parts.

To maintain the proper volume of oil or fluid in the system it is desirable to provide means for feeding oil through the pistons from the interior of the casing into the system. This, as shown,

consists of/ a line .55, including a check valve l1 and leading from one side of the pistons to the other. The check valve permits passage of uid as indicated by the arrow and similarly prevents its return in the opposite direction. Thus, leach time the pistons are moved to decrease the pre'ssure in the. system the check valve opens and some fluid is drawn therepast into the system from the casing.

The features j ust described permitting. variation in the volume 'of fluid in the actual pressure line, will in operation be set to provide just sufficient fluid in the system to engage the parts The effect is to rapidly build up the pressure to move the parts into actual engaging position and then much more slowly (due to the toggle action) and with considerably greater force, eifect the actual engagement.

. ing parts as a clutch or brake, althoughthis is thepreferred manner of use.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one amasser W y 3 explained. change being made as regards the structure herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be' employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly v claim as my invention:

1. A toggle uid pressure 'booster unit comf prising a case having a cylinder therein, a piston in -said cylinder, a member shiftable transversely to the axis of said cylinder, a link connecting saidy 10 member and said piston, a dash-pot cushion abutment positioned to be engaged by said member and lying to one side of the cylinder'axis and means toshiit said member across said .cylinder '-'axis and againstsaid abutment whereby the toggle is locked against further movement in the direction towards said abutment. l

2. A uid pressure booster unit comprising a case having a iluid pumping cylinder therein', a piston in said cylinder, means comprising a rack and pinion for actuating said piston. a conduit communicating with'the liquid pumping end of said `cylinder to divert a portion of the pumped liquid and discharging the same against said means.

LARKIN n. WnLIAMsoN. 

